A podcast of empty souls and fevered thoughts, reeking of foetor and decay! MAY THE RATS EAT YOUR EYES!

Thank you for joining us this week on the NOCLIP Podcast, where today we’re going to be talking about Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. This GameCube exclusive horror game once again takes its inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft, but unlike almost anything before it and even most games that came later, Eternal Darkness nails some of the lesser used themes of Weird fiction, like the madness of the protagonist, which play into the game both narratively and mechanically. Central to this game’s notoriety is the sanity meter and its associated effects, which add a meta layer to the game’s horror and are still something of a calling card for the game many years after its release. We discuss pacing in combat, the intricacies of this game’s magic system and the eldritch properties of desserts. They are unknowable. They are delicious.

Thanks for listening to the podcast during our favorite month of the year (though we’ve got one more thing for you before the season’s over)! Hope you enjoyed our spooky selections, but we’re going back to our usual variety next time when we talk about What Remains of Edith Finch!

Welcome to the newest episode of NOCLIP Pocket where we’re going to be talking about Night Trap (25th Anniversary Edition). Originally a Sega CD game, the game was re-released last year spanning all the major consoles for a wider audience to experience one of the most controversial games of all time. Does it hold up? Was the game ever really “good” in a traditional sense? Well, there’s definitely something charming here, and the notoriety this game has is a hilarious backdrop with which to experience this game today. We’re going to talk about the way FMV is integrated into the mechanical experience, the way the trial and error gameplay relates to storytelling, and the characterization and nuance of cinema’s unsung hero: Weird Eddie.

thanks for listening today, and keep an eye out on halloween because we’re going to HavE pLayed PokeMon black vErsion.

Welcome to our first proper episode of the Halloween season! Today, we’re going to be taking a look at Harvester, a ‘90s point and click adventure game that touts itself as the most vile and shocking you’ll ever play. While this may not be entirely true, Harvester does not pull its punches when it comes to being weird and transgressive, and confronts its players with scene after scene of nonsensical characters and irreverent dialogue. This proves to be the game’s charm, though, and once it stops feeling like Twin Peaks on a hallucinogen bender, it’s actually pretty funny, whether it intends to be or not. We talk about surprisingly tame adventure game puzzles, the way the game handles tone, and whether or not something is just too pink to be a real ass.

Thank you for spending some quality time with us this week and keep an eye out later this month for our second, decidedly less bizarre, horror episode on Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem!

People tried to glimpse the future in the strangest ways. They locked themselves in dark rooms, not partaking in podcasts.

Thank you for joining us as we begin our extra spooky Halloween month this year! Today we’re going to be talking about Year Walk, a Simogo developed horror-adventure game based on a Swedish folk tradition in which people would perform a ritual in an effort to see into the future. The way the act of Year Walking was adapted to this game, originally released only for iOS, maintains the inherently creepy nature of such practices, but also helps to incorporate other elements of folklore that purely add to the game’s iconography and atmosphere. However brief, Year Walk does a fantastic job of accomplishing its goals in tone and story making it an enjoyable, moody experience and one perfect to kickstart the season. We’re going to discuss puzzles, folklore and an anthropomorphic suit-wearing horse man.

Thank you for joining us today (a very important day as it’s our third year anniversary!) and we’ll be back in two weeks with an episode on Night Trap. Stay spooky, everybody!

Happy NOCLIP Day, everybody! Hopefully you’re celebrating over a delicious NOCLIP Day dinner, and are enjoying your traditional NOCLIP Day Eve gifts you got from your family and friends. That’s right, this means that NOCLIP is now three years old and today we’re here to present you with our annual bloopers episode. It’s like if you had a child that turned three and is now walking and so you upload a cruel home movie compilation of all the times they fell over or ran into things while learning to keep their balance. As always, we want to thank all of you for listening as we’ve grown and changed over the last three years. It means a ton to all of us and we still sincerely enjoy playing these games, making these episodes and talking about it with all of you. Anyway, enough with the saccharine stuff, enjoy the episode and stay tuned, as we’ve got a NOCLIP Pocket on Year Walk coming out later today and we’ll be back with a full episode on Harvester this weekend!

Sacred geometry was our pride, our downfall, but forever will our podcasts stand in this valley.

Welcome back to another episode of NOCLIP Pocket, where today we’re going to be discussing mobile gaming darling Monument Valley. The impossible objects and puzzling landscapes of M.C. Escher do seem to lend themselves to, well, a puzzle game, but the necessary visual complication can sometimes detract from the actual puzzle solving. However, this rarely hinders your enjoyment and the game is consistently gorgeous and unexpected making for a solid overall experience, particularly considering its platform. We’re going to talk about difficulty in puzzle design, clean and beautiful aesthetic choices, and we will say a French word but probably mispronounce it.

Thank you for joining us again this week (or off week, depending on how you want to look at it) and we’ll be back at the start of October to talk about Year Walk!

A strange podcast dribbles down from the point and onto my visor. The entity waits for the order to plunge it deep into my brain.

Welcome to another episode of NOCLIP! This week we’re going to look at Hello Games’ vast universe generating game No Man’s Sky. While the initial release of this game was fraught with controversy (a subject we can’t avoid addressing), the game has received consistent and constant updates to transform itself into what it is today, currently going under the moniker of No Man’s Sky: Next. The changes that have been introduced fundamentally alter the way No Man’s Sky can be played, but where does the game stand now as a product? We discuss depth of mechanics with a limited verbset, visual and word design in a proceduarally generated universe and how your propensity for Rush could help in your enjoyment of this game.

Thank you for listening this week, and, since our next episode will be releasing in October, brace yourself for the very weird and very abrasive Harvester!

Welcome back to another episode of our Pocket series where we're going to be talking about the game that is impossibly difficult to Google, Home. Home is a narrative-focused adventure game whose main draw is the fact that it's ending and your interpretation of the entire game can change depending on your actions. This concept is furthered by a dreary atmosphere and isolating sound design which casts a dark tone over the entire experience. We join up with previous NOCLIP guests Dan and Janelle to determine if this execution succeeds in making an intriguing game from the perspective of both first time players and people who have played through the game a number of times.

Thank you for joining us this week, and the next Pocket episode will be on Monument Valley!

If my "podcast" almost did you in, the mountain might be a bit too much for you,

Welcome back to the NOCLIP Podcast! Today, we're going to be talking about indie platformer Celeste. Celeste falls under the category of precision platformers, with an ever escalating difficulty curve that continues to get harder even after the game proper ends. This difficulty is then set against the personal challenges the main character is tasked with overcoming in the narrative, making for a beautiful melding of theme and mechanics that makes the entire experience an extremely satisfying one to complete. We discuss challenge versus iteration time, narrative rationing and pacing, and we roast those pink clouds so good, man. They don't even know what hit them.

Thank you for joining us for this episode, and join us next time as we explore No Man's Sky with a million procedurally generated words.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of NOCLIP Pocket! Today, we're going to spend some time with Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, a Mario platformer originally released on the Game Boy. While the game itself brings what was, even in 1992, standard Mario platforming gameplay to a handheld console, the game's music and visual design make it stand out from others in what was the most ubiquitous genre at the time. We're going to talk about platforming difficulty in a nonlinear game, the origins of Wario, and rare species of flying rabbits.

Thanks for listening to the first episode of NOCLIP Pocket! While recording our regular episodes is difficult at the moment, hopefully we can keep up a stream of content through this mini-show. For the next episode, we're going to be talking about Home!

Welcome back to the podcast, where today we're going to be talking about the follow-up to Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask. Majora is one of the precious few direct sequels in the Zelda series and yet it feels completely different to the games that came both before and after its release. With a much stronger focus on tone than the series had ever seen, a focus that would presumably go on to inspire the design of the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, Majora's oppressive atmosphere brings an element of sadness to the table that serves to make its mysteries that much more intriguing. We're going to be discussing the reuse of assets, world and dungeon design in a game with a repeating time mechanic, and indifference toward the suffering caused by allowing the spirits of the dead to possess your body and the existential dread that comes with wrenching them back out again. Fun stuff!

Thanks for joining us again this week, and keep an eye on your feed because next time we'll be talking about Celeste!

Welcome back to the podcast this week, where we're getting boots on the ground in what is arguably the most popular video game franchise of all time. The fourth CoD is the entry that really elevated the series within popular culture, and for good reason. This game took a step away from the setting and tone of previous games as well as most games within its subgenre of shooters to deliver something that was—dare I say it about a Call of Duty game—original. We're going to talk about the mechanical and tonal successes of the game, the ubiquity of certain controls and mechanical interactions present in shooters and the staleness this can cause, and both surprising and unsurprising political implications made by the game. So you know, don't play this episode at the dinner table around your weird uncle.

Thanks for joining us this week and thank you for bearing with us through a less than regular release schedule. Due to numerous real-life-related events, our availability to record and release episodes is more sporadic than it has been in the past and we apologize for that. We should have an update on that soon, but until then, the next time you hear us we'll be talking about The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D!

Welcome to another episode of the NOCLIP podcast! Today, we're going to be talking about WarioWare, the schizophrenic Nintendo title that asks you to complete its challenges in mere seconds. The game's sense of humor combined with the insanity inherent in its concept makes this a charming surface level experience with enough room for improvement to get some fairly serious mileage out of it. We talk about designing games that are meant to be understood in an incredibly short time frame, cartoony character design and we speculate on the ultimate Waluigi VR experience.

Thank you for listening to the podcast this week, and join us again next time as we talk about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare!

You may be wondering why you're here. Why you woke up in a locker and are being cajoled by bears who look like they took fashion advice from Harvey Dent. It's because you are the Ultimate Podcast Listener, and you're listening to the NOCLIP Podcast! We're taking a look at Spike Chunsoft's eclectic adventure game/visual novel/dating simulator this week and breaking down what works and puzzling over all the elements that combine to make this game so dense. We laugh, cry and get fatigued and come away sure that the game was good, even though we might not always know why. We talk about high tension and tonal whiplash, coming to love unlovable characters, and how some of the mechanics in this game seem designed to be cheap and fun. ...you know. Like a sex motel.

Thanks for danging our ronpas with us this week, and be back two weeks from now when we talk about WarioWare: Mega Microgames!

What do you mean "what the hell is the NOCLIP Podcast"? You mean...you don't know?!

Welcome to the podcast, and the first episode of Mystery May, where today we're going to be talking about 999, an escape room/graphic novel adventure game that goes heavy on its convoluted plot in its attempts to engage the player. While we think the puzzles are well designed, there is a helping of disagreement over whether the game accomplishes what it sets out to do with its plot and characters. We're going to talk about adventure game puzzle design, mature content being handled in a less than mature manner, and whether this game would be peeeeerfect for the Switch.

Next time we're talking about Danganronpa V3, so be sure to check back then!

Welcome back to NOCLIP, where this time we're looking at Capcom's item crafting, Felyne training, stat pondering, social dancing, and yes, monster fighting action RPG: Monster Hunter: World. Monster Hunter is a long standing, but largely niche, series and this entry is the first in seven years to be released outside of the handheld market. This seems like a decision that largely paid off, as Capcom is in the monster hunting business, and brother, business is a-boomin'. We look at the best selling game in Capcom's history and let its hooks sink deep to find out what is so compelling about the boss fight-centric game. We talk about the meaningful difference weapon choice makes, the ecology of Monster Hunter's world and what motivates a mountain to do what it does.

Thanks for checking out this episode, and prepare your magnifying glasses and pick up a debilitating smoking habit as we kick off Mystery May next time with 999!

Wealth, glory, enlightenment... that podcast seems to promise all things!

Welcome back to the podcast (and apologies for how long of a break we've had)! Today, we're going to be talking about Hollow Knight, an action-heavy Metroidvania that's an overwhelmingly impressive feat coming from a small indie team. Every corner of the world Hollow Knight contains is teeming with life, or at least undeath, and this sense of discovery drives engagement all the way through the game. We'll discuss all the ideas this game brings to the table, and how even our complaints seem small in comparison to the scale of this game's accomplishments. We talk about the experience focused design of the game's world and combat encounters, using vague hints at backstory to further a mood, and tapping into your latent instincts to be a high school bully.

Thanks for checking us out again this week, and be sure to check in next time when we talk about Monster Hunter World!

From deep in the bowls of the Internet, we're going to be talking about Super Mario Cereal today. When this promotional cereal released, it was met with continental amusement, seemingly because of the inherent ridiculousness of it. But, rather than be spoon-fed opinions on it, we decided to pour up and try it for ourselves. Join us to find out if our favorite Nintendo hero has made the switch from plumbin' to bakin' or if his breakfast effort is another milquetoast effort on the shelves of your grocery store.

Thanks for joining us for this admittedly kind of silly tangent this week, and we'll be back again next time to talk about Hollow Knight!

Welcome back to NOCLIP, where this week we're going to be talking about The Last Guardian. The third game in what could be considered a spiritual trilogy of games including Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian similarly features a bleak atmosphere and an unassuming protagonist. The hook this time around comes in the form of a massive beast and the connection that you create with it over the course of the game. While the game is touching and technologically very impressive, the devil, as it usually is, is in the details of the execution. We're talking about puzzle design, questionable mechanical and UI decisions, and what type of thing it is more okay to be angry at: at person or a horse?

Thanks for checking us out again this week, and be sure you come back next episode when we talk about Hollow Knight!

You're about to listen to a podcast with the color and viscosity of maple syrup, except instead of maple it's flavored with the inside of the mouths of people who chew cigars instead of smoking them and have never brushed their teeth.

Welcome back! Today we're taking a look at West of Loathing, an RPG set in the wild west from the makers of Kingdom of Loathing. Despite being an RPG, the real draw of this game is in its writing, and funnier writing is not often seen in this industry. As quaint as it can come off with its rudimentary art style and turn-based combat, the world present here is deep and interesting, leveraging both its excellent dialog and knack for creating interesting and worthwhile quests to keep players invested. We're going to talk about sprawling quest structure, enjoying the journey in spite of the destination (really a life lesson, if you think about it) and the intricacies of discrimination in Goblin culture.

Thank you (yes you!) for listening this week, and check back with us in two weeks when we talk about The Last Guardian.